May 3: Mills College Allows Men to Enroll

On this date in History ... May 3, 1990:

Mills College, a women’s college, voted to allow men to enroll as a means to  to help their financial situation.  

The decision resulted in a 2 week strike by students and faculty.  Over 300 students blockaded the administration offices and boycotted classes. Faculty and alumni supported the student movement by offering pay cuts, to teach more classes, to collect more endowment pledges and more alumni donations, showing the administration they could survive their financial needs. 

On May 18, the trustees reversed their decision, becoming the only women's college that reversed its financial decision to become coed because of the will of its students, alumnae, and faculty.

May 2: J. Edgar Hoover Dies

On this date in History ..... May 2, 1972:  

Just before the Watergate scandal erupted, J. Edgar Hoover dies after re-creating and leading the FBI for nearly 5 decades, serving under 8 presidents. 

He built the corruption-ridden agency into an efficient crime-fighting machine, establishing a centralized fingerprint file, a crime laboratory, and a training school for agents. 

After WWII, he worked closely with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and Senator Joseph McCarthy, the architect of America's second Red Scare.  

By 1969, Congress was suspicious of the FBI’s abuse of power and for the 1^st time Hoover found himself under criticism and the Congressional microscope.  Because of these inquiries, Congress passed laws requiring congressional approval of FBI appointments and limited time in office to only 10 yrs.

May 1: Movie "Citizen Kane" is released

On this date in History .... May 1, 1941:  

Citizen Kane is released.  It bombs at the box office and only after it’s re-release years later did it actually receive the accolades it deserved.  

It is the film that gave us the famous single word line of "Rosebud".





Previews of the film drew great reviews from critics, except for one. The acclaimed Queen of Hollywood Gossip, Hedda Hopper, didn’t like the way Charles Foster Kane portrayed her friend William Hurst.  She went to Hurst himself to complain who began running a campaign against the film including refusing to run ads for it in his newspapers and gaining support of people such as Louis B. Mayer. 

Wells threatened to sue Hurst and RKO Pictures if the film wasn’t released. Only after its re-release did it become a big hit, grabbing the #1 spot on the poll of America’s Greatest Films.

Click here for a short clip......

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